Hey all, Back again. As usual, it's been a nutty time since my last post. Trying to balance a ton but in between all of said balancing, managed to finally finish a digital painting i've been doing on and off for some time. The goal with this and my work on the poster for "UNDOCUMENTED", was to start bringing my training in painting to my graphic art. Usually, I'd opt for simpler compositions and visuals (stickler for the iconic silhouettes) but I really wanted to bring this film to life with a sense of depth and intensity. I felt I wouldn't get that emotion, that "fire" I know so well from the epic film. This film always acted as an inspiration on many levels and i'm happy to have brought it to life in my own vision. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed doing it. :)

Many thanks to the folks behind IFC Midnight's UNDOCUMENTED for having me on board for such an exciting project! It was great fun and something I really believe in. UNDOCUMENTED, Directed by Chris Peckover, is in theaters September 9th in New York and On Demand nationwide September 14th via IFC Midnight.

About the film:

When a small group of documentary filmmakers chronicling the trials and inequities faced by Mexican illegal immigrants join a group of families crossing the border to record the experience firsthand, their truck is pulled over and detained. What happens next plunges the group into unimaginable horror.

If you're in the city, definitely check it out! In addition, here's some coverage the debut of the art has gotten so far!:

Twitch Film: http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/09/new-poster-art-for-chris-peckovers-undocumented.php

Bloody Disgusting: http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/26256

Dread Central: http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/47080/new-undocumented-one-sheet-flies-familiar-colors

On March 11, 2001 Japan was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami that would change many lives. Our friends in Japan still to this day need support. That's why the Kizuna Cranes Project (Created by my employers mcgarrybowen and the Dentsu Network) in conjunction with GlobalGiving is looking to help the long-term financial troubles affected in Japan and make a difference. My colleagues and I have created unique paper-crane designs that are waiting to take off. All you have to do is donate to the crane of your choice and watch as it travels around the globe, ultimately ending up supporting a larger cause. 

I urge anyone who can to support my crane and give back to a good cause! You can find my crane "Snowfall" here.

Here's more on the Kizuna Cranes Project:

"One special wish. In Japanese folklore, that’s what someone is granted when they fold 1,000 origami paper cranes. It’s an extraordinary undertaking, but one that creates a permanent bond with the recipients of that wish. It’s a bond that’s full of good fortune, full of friendship and full of hope. 

The Japanese have a word for this kind of bond. They call it kizuna [key-zoo-nah]."

After 7 films in Harry Potter series (and whistling that theme for the past two weeks), I was inspired to create a piece based on the guy himself and his finale. Went through a bunch of color versions and layouts, but happy where this one has netted out. Tried to break some of my usual traditions and try some new design choices. Hope you all dig it. 

Here's a piece I recently did for the guys over at Silver Screen Society based on the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Interestingly, prior to this project, I hadn't seen the film. It was one of those pop-culture gems that fell off my radar. So being given the opportunity to take on a contribution for Silver Screen Society, I jumped at a film that I wasn't super close to. Often times, designing for films you're either a huge fan of or really familiar with can come through in a design. It tends to have bias all over it. That was certainly not the case with this film. I don't want to mar the design with too much exposition, but I like to think it represents the film from a fresh point of view and brings the detailed nuances I was trying to achieve. Great fun all around!

Hey All! As you can probably tell by the chunk of time it took for me to post some new work, things are a brewin on this end. I've been feverishly working on some new art and have some exciting things that will be happening in the coming weeks (that probably means you should check back). 

Above, you'll find one of those cases. I was contacted a couple of months ago by the lovely folks at Persona Films to tackle the One-sheet for their film CARGO. The poster for this was really nice territory to play in given the subject matter, and one that I dived in head-first on. We went through quite a lot of different concepts and settled on the idea above. It just felt right and all elements worked nicely to keep mysterious but also inform the viewer of the overall story. It was a great experience and I look forward to working with the team in the future.

For more information on CARGO, visit their facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/cargomovie

And Here's a short synopsis of the film:

A young Russian woman, smuggled into America by human traffickers, and a notorious Egyptian transporter, hired to drive her from the Mexican border to New York City, form an unlikely bond that threatens to derail the traffickers’ plans.

What do you all think?

Hey All, Here's all of the compiled posters together for the first time! Enjoy the OSCARS!

Hey Folks! The time has finally come for me to present the last poster of my 10 Posters in 10 Days, The Oscars Project! This last one might have been the most challenging for me, seeing as I'd already tackled some previous imagery for an Inception Poster months ago. It was just kind of tough for me to approach something in the style I'd established on this set, without rehashing the same concept all over again. I opted to mix a bit of M.C. Escher in here, as the films mind-bending reality really reminded me of it. I wish I had more time to do some extra detail (I may tomorrow at some point for good measure).

I just wanted to thank everyone who's reblogged, tweeted, facebook shared and commented on these suckers. It's been great fun and a nice exploratory on how to design without over-thinking, evolve at rapid place, step outside my usual taste confines and just go on instinct. Thanks again, and stay tuned for more projects coming soon!

So we're approaching the last leg of this project, having reached # 9 of my Poster Set for all the 10 2011 Best Picture Nominees. This one, which I have to be honest, was one of the hardest to concept for (especially trying to up the ante as I continued the set) hopefully brings 'Toy Story 3' to life. Being one of my favorite films this year and re-watching it recently, there was always one moment that pulled at my heartstrings. I'll stay spoiler free, but seeing this poster, anyone who's watched it knows which I'm talking about. I'm really happy with this one and it's become a close favorite for me (Aside from The Kids Are Alright).

What I find interesting with this project, is to see how the style has evolved slowly throughout 9 straight days. And how even looking back to the earlier posters, I feel I would have done it so differently. I'll talk more to this tomorrow, where I tackle the final film and revisit a design for a movie I've already created art for, INCEPTION! Stay tuned and thanks for everyone's amazing support!

I'll Keep it short & sweet. # 8 in the Oscars Best Picture Nominee Posters is "Winter's Bone". With this one, I really just wanted to play with the way I was using some environments and shapes around our heroine's silhouette and how it all tied in together. This one harks back most to the style I developed while doing my "The Birds" poster. A beautiful chaos of sorts. Hope you dig it!